Cell Phone Dump

This past month I took a TON of pics on my cell phone so just thought I would warn you this months "cell phone dump" is going to be pretty heavy on pics!

 Mase "helping" Mama plant flowers - more like playing in the dirt :)

 

Morning commutes on I-35 in the rain SUCK :( 

Our vet took this awesome pic of Winston & asked if they could use it on their website! Winston will be signing "paw-tographs" upon request :)

 

Super awesome gift from my work bestie Kenzie!  #alldayeveryday 

Funnel cloud above our subdivision!

Our next door neighbor took this pic from his back patio while the tornado sirens were going off! We were smart & were down in the basement!

Mason & his cute little bestie Jarin

Made a visit to Mason's Pre-K class & talked about my "day job" as a nurse with the littles. I brought hats, masks & gloves for all the littles to try on! They had SO much fun!

Ahhh - celebrating National Wine Day with a glass of wine (May 25th)

 

Looked up & saw this above our house!

 

Mase & Jarin - swimming buddies. Best friends.

 

Went to water my flower pot & found this little guy sitting in the middle of it. Scared me to death!

These two love each other! So sweet!

Strawberry Pickin'

We were SO excited to finally get to go to Gieringer's Orchard today for our annual strawberry picking festivities. We have had SO much rain & cool weather during the month of April that our strawberry picking trip was postponed until late May due to slow growing & wet crops. But this week they made the announcement that the strawberry fields were OPEN!!

Chris Cakes was there serving breakfast when we got there so we had our fair share of pancakes, sausage links & juice before we headed out to the fields.

It was a beautiful morning to be out picking strawberries! We were there right away when they opened so there weren't a ton of people there which was nice!

Mason needed no instruction & immediately got to picking!! There were TONS of big, red, ripe strawberries ready to be picked & so we all got our pickin' ON! Almost 11 lbs of strawberries by the time we were done.

We absolutely LOVE doing this annual tradition all together & look forward to it every May! It will be a super sad day when Mason doesn't want to go with us to pick strawberries anymore :( Hoping we have several more years before that happens!

I ended up making 18 jars of strawberry jam once we got back home as well as strawberry muffins & lots of strawberries were left over to be snacked on! In my opinion, there isn't anything better than fresh picked strawberries from a strawberry field! YUM :)

Disney Dance Party

Tonight Mase & I have a "Mommy-Mason Date Night" & he has NO idea what I have in store for him. I have kept this evening a secret from him & all I told him after I picked him up from daycare was that I had a super fun evening planned for us.

We drove over to my girlfriend Leann's house & her & her daughter were going to be joining us in our fun evening. Leann had ran to go get the kiddos & the Mama's something to eat so while she was gone we waited outside for her & took a few pics...

 

Leann returned with McDonald's & shortly after we all ate we were on our way to the downtown area for our surprise for the littles....

Disney's Dance Party LIVE :)

Mason & Olivia were SO excited after we told them where we were going! We arrived to the Midland Theatre, found our awesome seats & soon the show began.

The show was hosted by DJ’s named D and J & they narrated the show as well as played tons of songs! Our little ones were up on their feet dancing & singing the entire show! At one point I caught myself singing along to all the theme songs to all the shows & as I looked over I busted Leann singing them also :)

Mason & Olivia were bouncing up & down nearly the whole time & doing everything the DJ's instructed them too! Characters like Mickey & the Roadster Racers, Puppy Dog Pals, Muppet Babies, Sofia the First, Vamparina & many others were there, confetti, “snow” & bubbles fell onto the audience from the ceiling during the show & there were so many dance numbers with awesome light effects going on all around us. 

The show ran for an hour 15 minutes with a short intermission, which ended up being the perfect amount of time for the kiddos & their attention spans.

(The littles doing "Mickey Ears")



These two had a blast as did their Mama's! I'm so glad I ended up surprising Mase & taking him to the show! Seeing the excitement & joy on his face was priceless.

Bridal Shower for Kenz

It is a busy couple of days this weekend. First we had the wedding & reception yesterday & today I am hosting a bridal shower for my work bestie Kenzie! She is getting married in June & all of us at work couldn't be more excited for her!

Kenzie is always going out of her way to do the kindest & most thoughtful things for me & through the months she has become a really good friend. So I felt that throwing her a work bridal shower was the least I can do to repay her for all the things she has done & given me this past year. Besides, anyone who knows me knows I love to plan, put together & throw a good party so why wouldn't I :)

The boys of the house headed out early to have a fun day together & this Mama got to work decorating, preparing food & getting the place ready for the shower!

Kenzie LOVES breakfast food so for our spread I set up a yogurt bar with strawberries, blueberries sliced almonds & granola, made those delicious Breakfast Sliders I made a couple of weeks ago for my family, a fruit bowl & various pastries & donuts. I also had mimosa's to sip on & my co-worker Stetson made one of his amazing cheesecakes - White Chocolate Raspberry to be exact.

 

It ended up being a yummy little spread & all the guests raved about the food! Win win for HT :) I ended up ordering these super cute banners & adorable balloons off of Etsy & they were in Kenzie's favorite colors...pink & gold!

 

We all enjoyed the food, lots of good conversation, laughs & then we gathered in the living room to open presents.

Kenzie received lots of nice gifts but the room favorite was this gift full of wine for every special occasion for the upcoming year. Such a cute idea & great gift idea! You can find the tags to print yourself on Etsy!

 

After all the gifts were opened, we cut up & served the cheesecake - SO yummy - one of Kenzie's & my favorites!

It was SO fun showering this cute lil' bride-to-be & can't wait to celebrate with her & my co-workers on the big day in June.

 

Miss Katie's Wedding

The girl on the left is Miss Katie & that little cutie in the middle is Mase at 6 months old. Mason has known Miss Katie since he was 4 months old as well as her mom Ms. Maggie. Katie worked at Mason's daycare in the infant room & took care of him daily & her mom works at the daycare still. Maggie will sometimes keep Mason overnight for fun & loves him like a grandson. They have had a huge hand in helping raise my little man since he was an infant so it is safe to say that they are a BIG part of our family!

 

Katie has been our babysitter for several years. Mason absolutely loves & adores her & she loves & adores Mase. We have been a part of many milestones in Miss Katie's life through the years. We celebrated with Katie when she got accepted to nursing school & 2 years later we went to her graduation...

We were excited for her when she got a big girl job at a Pediatrician's office, we were introduced to the love of her life a couple of years ago & now today we are witnessing Katie getting married to said love of her life.

 

We are all so very excited for this day - especially this little guy!! He was SO excited to get dressed up for Katie's wedding & see her!



My two handsome boys :)

 

We got to the church, took our seats & watched as the wedding ceremony began. Here comes the bride.....





It was such a beautiful wedding! As Katie came down the aisle with her dad Mason turned to me & said "Mommy - Miss Katie looks like a princess" :)

After the ceremony, we headed downtown to The Madrid Theatre where the wedding reception was held. It is a beautiful old building which was once a theatre & it was decorated beautifully.

We ended up waiting a very long time for the bride & groom which was making everyone drink WAY too much & a bit hangry but once they arrived everyone settled down & enjoyed the evening.

We took lots of pictures while we waited to pass the time & this Mama ended up having a bit too much wine by the time food was served. Thank goodness Shane was driving us home!

 

 

After we ate it was time to cut the cake & Mason was first in line to get a piece! He is definitely MY child - LOL :)

We did a little bit of dancing after eating cake & then decided it was getting late so we headed home. But before we left we had to get a picture of Mase with the "princess" before we left - his request! He ended up talking about this picture with Miss Katie all the way home.

It was a fun evening celebrating Miss Katie with her family & friends! We are SO blessed to have such amazing people in Mason's life & this girl & her Mama are no exception! We are looking forward to sharing in the next milestone in Miss Katie's life in the future!

Mother's Day Weekend

My entire family is in town this weekend for my nephew Caleb's high school graduation/party. My sister & her girls arrived on Thursday evening & the rest of my family came in on Friday afternoon.

We spent Friday night at my brother & sister-in-laws home celebrating Caleb who will be graduating from high school tomorrow. There were yard games, fun stuff for the kids to do & play with as well as a BBQ spread & yummy cake!

 

 

It was a great time hanging with our family as well as my sister-in-laws family celebrating the high school graduate!

Saturday we all went to Deanna Rose Farmstead so the kids could get out of the house & burn a bit of energy. There was a lot of fun had seeing all the animals, riding the horses, feeding the chickens, goats, ducks & playing on the playground!

 

Afterwards, we all headed back to my house where we grilled out & enjoyed cocktails & company on the patio! 

Sunday was Mother's Day. I tried out a new recipe & made a yummy breakfast honoring all the Mom's in my family. The Breakfast Sliders were a huge hit & were SO good! Will definitely be making these again!!

After breakfast my parents decided to head out & make there way back to South Dakota. After we all said our goodbyes, the rest of us all got ready for the day & headed to the zoo where we met my brother & his wife.

It was not the best idea to go to the zoo that day as it was hotter than heck out & I believe everyone in the Kansas City metro area also had the same idea to head to the zoo! We had to park over a mile away & not only were the kids crabby about walking such a far distance, the adults were also getting crabby!

Once we got into the zoo we all got some drinks, a snack & made our way. Everyone began to calm down a bit as we walked around & the kids had a great time! We were all a bit bummed that the stingray exhibit wasn't yet open. We will definitely have to go back in a couple of months to check it out when it does finally open!

 

After a long, hot afternoon we parted ways with my brother & all headed home. We had a low key kind of night hanging on the patio & the kiddos were all in bed early as they were all exhausted!

The next morning I dropped my sister & her girls off at the airport & I headed to work! It was a great Mother's Day weekend spent with my family & the kiddos had so much fun hanging out with their cousins!

Hope all the Mama's that read this blog had a wonderful Mother's Day as well! I am blessed & forever grateful that I get to be this ittle boys Mama every single day!!